Making the morning rounds.• That's some talent for 7-6. Ron Zook's reputation as "a good recruiter, at least" got a boost this week, thanks to a trio of Illlinois juniors – running back Mikel Leshoure, linebacker Martez Wilson and defensive tackle Corey Liuget – who have announced their departures for the NFL Draft in as many days. Leshoure is moving on after leading the Big Ten and finishing second nationally with 1,706 yards on the ground, including a 330-yard, two-touchdown romp against Northwestern in Wrigley Field, and Wilson finally backed up the five-star recruiting hype with an All-Big Ten campaign as a fourth-year junior. But Liuget may be the first of the trio off the board, as one of at least five Big Ten defensive linemen likely bound for the first round. [Chicago Tribune]
Also leaving school, surprisingly: Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who announced his decision just before rival Oregon was set to kick off in the BCS Championship Game on Monday night – and less than a week after his brother, James, was granted a medical hardship to return to Corvallis for a fifth year in the fall. The younger Rodgers goes out with 4,933 all-purpose yards and 51 touchdowns in three years, and if he's a little small (5'7", 190) to be a top pick at the next level, he's not going to be any bigger a year from now. [The Oregonian]
• Next man in. Wasting no time, San Diego State plans to name defensive coordinator Rocky Long as its new head coach today, one day after Brady Hoke left for his dream job at Michigan on the heels of the Aztecs' first winning season in 12 years. Long resigned as New Mexico's head coach in 2008, after a solid decade that included five bowl games at a traditional bottom dweller [Associated Press, San Diego Union-Tribune]
• Huskies embracing Whipple Ball. Outgoing Miami offensive coordinator Mark Whipple has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Maryland-bound Randy Edsall as head coach at UConn, where he could be officially introduced as early as today. Short of Chip Kelly, Dan Mullen or Bill Belichick, the Huskies couldn't hire anyone with a better grasp on Northeastern football: Whipple was an Ivy League quarterback at Brown and has spent all but three years of a 30-year career in the Northeast, including head coaching stints at his alma mater and UMass (where he won a I-AA national championship in 1998) before moving on to five seasons on NFL staffs in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. [Hartford Courant, Palm Beach Post]
• A pleasure doing business with you. South Florida has reached a $2.7 million settlement with former head coach Jim Leavitt, who was fired a year ago for allegedly grabbing and choking a player at halftime of a game in November 2009. Leavitt will get a one-time payment of $2 million, covering one year's salary and benefits, and an additional $750,000 to acknowledge Leavitt's "contributions to building USF's nationally respected football program." [Tampa Tribune]
• Even the Hall-of-Fame natives are restless. Georgia great Fran Tarkenton ripped coach Mark Richt Tuesday on Atlanta radio, especially over Richt's statement last week that he plans to spend "a higher percentage of my time" on football, rather than administration. "Holy cow! What has he been doing for nine years?" Tarkenton said. "I have never heard any college, high school; professional coach has ever said that I was not able to spend enough time on football. I had other issues. ... It sounds like a cop-out." [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sports Radio Interviews]
Quickly... Auburn's national championship could be worth a killing in licensing revenues. ... Oregon wasn't happy with the turf at University of Phoenix Stadium. ... Playoff crusader Mark Cuban approached Auburn, Oregon and TCU about playing a "plus-one" game after the bowls. ... Texas introduces its new offensive coordinator. ... Linebacker Marcus Dowtin is transferring from Georgia, likely in connection to an out-of-state assault charge from last spring that Mark Richt just learned about. ... And I guess it was fun while it lasted.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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